Flash Switch
by GDLuu
Summary: I decided it was a smart fucking idea to dare him to step out into the storm. I didn't know if I actually expected him to take me up on it or not, but regardless, he did it. It happened so quickly after that, lightning hit him and he toppled to the wet grass. I felt my heart stop and my head cloud up, I couldn't hear anything and just bolted forward, dragging him inside...
1. Kevin

**So hello there, writing a new one that I suddenly had muse for. Don't worry! I'm still continuing The Caste, but as it is I write most of these on a school laptop and I don't think copious amounts of violence and murder and god knows what else is appropriate for that so I'm likely just going to start with this one and write the other when I get home!**

**I'm not sure what inspired this story, just that I was sitting there and suddenly it hit me like a ton of bricks and I just... yeah. So I hope you enjoy it.**

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If I'm completely honest, I think I've known him since before we were born. We were always so competitive with each other. So it's no surprise that he became the swimming team's best and I the captain of the baseball team; always trying to see who could win more games or meets. It was a never ending tie and he came to all of my games like I went to all of his meets. Eddward "Shark" Vincent, given his nickname from years of practice and skill. He always rubbed it in my face that he had one and I hadn't gotten a title to be famous by. He really pissed me off. Before you say a single word, no, it's not love, though I've been perfectly content knowing about my bisexuality for a few years now. It's not love. Not for him anyways. It's competition. A thrill, a passion. We enjoy it, watching the other go on and on, pushing themselves to the limit until finally you won or burned yourself out trying. I burned out far more times than he did, he knows how to pace himself, he's always been smart… however I pride myself on brute force and that doesn't always work. Despite our issues with one another, he is my best friend, Nazz and Nat aside.

And then the storm hit Peach Creek.

The weather channel was explaining how it was this huge, rare anomaly and Eddward had insisted I stay and watch with him. He's a nerd like that. The colours of this perfect storm were bright blues and pinks that lit up the night like it was still day, brilliantly shining above and through the curtains. I decided it was a smart fucking idea to dare him to step out into it. I didn't know if I actually expected him to take me up on it or not, but regardless, he did it. It happened so quickly after that, lightning hit him and he toppled to the wet grass. I felt my heart stop and my head cloud up, I couldn't hear anything and just bolted forward, dragging him inside… But hang on, there's more to this than I've just said, so can we put this part on hold for a while?

I remember that day had been so strange too…

Eddward was walking out to his car, we usually just lagged around the parking lot. He was talking about something he think he found, that dork get's just about as excited for science as he does for his swim meets.

"If I'm right there might be another universe parallel to this one. The data I've collected suggests we could be on a collision course with it soon as well a- Kevin David Barr are you listening to me?" He snarled.

I wasn't, I was too busy staring down girls that left the building and feeling a swell of pride every time they giggled and turned to whisper with flushed cheeks.

"Yeah… go on…" I said, pretending to have an interest. It's really one of those things you don't care about until later when you suddenly remember it.

He cleared his throat and I turned, I already knew he was irritated with me, so I pretended to look like I didn't care.

"I said I was listening."

"If you would pause your ogling for two minutes to listen to me…"

"What are we even going to do about a collision dude? We're high school students, not rocket scientists or whatever…" He seemed shocked that I even retained that much.

Thin fingers twisted his dog tags around. "Yes, well, I'm merely suggesting it's possible something will open up and let an influx through. I found it interesting."

"You collected data from the National Geographic, dude, there's nothing actually there."

"I'd appreciate it if you would take me more seriously, Kevin, I'm not afraid to hit you and we all know what happened last time…"

I scowled, the last time we got into a fist fight it ended… well lets just say I couldn't really walk straight for about a week. I said it wasn't love… but lust is completely different.

"Yeah yeah, smartass. We still hanging at your place later? I need help with Chemistry…"

"I believe the plan still stands, Kevin, I advise you eat before you come over, Mother and Father were very unhappy about the pizza sauce stain on the couch."

"That one was your fault, you shoved me." I grumbled.

He smirked. "Well anyway, eat before you come over and take off your shoes at the door this time, I'm tired of cleaning up the mud you track in. I live in a home, Kevin, not a pig stye."

So that's how he got me over, homework, and then the storm started and he made me stay.

Now I'm looking down at his limp body, frantically trying to dry him off. I'm not suited for this! If I'd been the one to pass out, Eddward would easily know what to do. I'm not the brilliant one here. He was heavier than I thought, so moving him to the couch was hard. Once there, I pulled the blanket over his still damp body. That's when I noticed something strange about him… His piercings were gone, and so were his dog tags. I'd never seen him without them, and he was definitely wearing them when he went out. I went to go look for them, I mean hell, does lightning even do that? Can lightning make jewelry come off? What's worse is when I went to go look for them, there wasn't even a glitter of silver anywhere. The storm had already started to clear up by then and the thunder was a mere rumble in the sky with the rain a continuous downpour hitting my skin and soaking me. I heard him groan from inside the house and ran back to see if he was okay.

There was definitely something wrong.

Eddward didn't seem like himself, normally he'd swear at me for handling him roughly, since I was pretty sure I'd bruised him getting him up there. No… instead he just stared at me with wide eyes, his hand was curled slightly, up at his lips with the sleeve clutched between his fingers.

Wait was he always wearing that sweater?

He and I didn't speak, just staring back and forth. I was trying to figure out what was going on here. He just seemed like he didn't know who I was. He finally moved, looking quickly around the room.

"W...what are you doing in my house?" He asked, his voice abnormally feeble.

"Dude, what are you talking about… you invited me, remember? Help with chemistry? Are you okay? Did that lightning fry your brain or something?"

"You? Need help with Chemistry?" He frowned. "Lightning… oh right…" He looked like he'd made some sort of connection as to what happened.

"Well duh, I'm failing remember?"

He was alarmed. "Failing?! How?! You've always been good at Chemistry!"

I was so confused… but then he seemed to be as well. "Eddward are you okay?"

"Goodness…" He blinked. "What's with using my full name?"

"I've always called you that…"

"No… it's always been Double D or Edd… I'm pretty sure of that…"

Remember when I said that the information Eddward had given me was something you remembered later? This was that moment. For some reason it made more sense to me than him losing his mind. I don't know why I completely threw reason out the door like that, I've heard of people losing their personalities in freak accidents, but it was just one of those things that couldn't happen to him… and besides that, this Eddward had different memories than mine… so it made sense to me that he wasn't the same Eddward.

"You're not him…" I frowned.

"Pardon?"

"What were you doing before you got hit?"

"I was taking measurements on my porch… I'd never seen a storm like that before and I wanted to make sure I had it documented… and then I remember everything got very warm…"

"You…" How did someone say this? You'd sound crazy… "I don't think you're my Eddward."

"Well there _is _three of us."

"But only one spells his name with two D's."

"Thank you for stating the obvious." He snorted.

"I'm saying you're not the one I know."

"How is that possible, I'm the only one who-"

"Like hell if I know how you got here… but you're not him. The Eddward I know is incredibly good at school, swimming, and is a huge dick."

"I beg your pardon!" He was clearly offended.

"Look, Edd, or… whatever you said your name was… I don't know how it's possible but I think you've swapped places with _my_ Eddward."

He seemed to mull that information over with the same look the Shark would give me, the one that told me I was a complete moron.

"Look, Eddward was talking about this… Parallel universe or something, he'd been gathering a bunch of snips from studies and came up with this whole theory where the two universes were going to clash… I think it did that and somehow you two got switched."

"...Are you sure this Eddward of yours is smart?" This kid made me want to hit him.

"Yeah, I'm fucking sure. I want mine back, so can you just leave."

He sighed. "Even if your theory was correct, Kevin, I don't know how."

"... so you do know who I am then?"

"I thought I knew… until you said you were failing Chemistry. What's next, quitting your robotics club?"

"What? Peach Creek doesn't have a Robotics Club…"

"Peach…" His eyes widened again. "Okay there might be something to your theory."

"What made you believe me?" I folded my arms over my chest.

"I'm not from Peach Creek… I live in Appledale."

This was what caught him? The town switch…? Whatever, as long as he realised it. Now the problem was getting him back. Did the lightning make him come here? It was likely, after all they both were hit right? So it made sense in my head to drag him to the backyard.

"You need to get shocked again." I said flatly.

"Are you crazy?!" He squeaked. "Good lord, man!"

But unfortunately, the storm had passed already. I swore under my breath. I'd never see him again… Losing your best friend hurt pretty bad. What's worse is that according to this Edd, Eddward would wake up on the grass alone. He had no one to pull him inside and call him an idiot for taking the dare. This one was too floppy. He looked like you could blow him over with just breath.

I sighed and sat on the couch, rubbing my face. I don't know why, but the new Edd walked over and sat down next to me, a light touch to my back told me his hand was there.

"Were you together or… something along those lines?" He asked.

"He's my best friend… not my boyfriend or anything if that's what you mean." I sighed. "Not that we'll admit it. We're kind of big assholes."

"Language, Kevin." He sighed. "If I could switch with him again, I would."

I grunted, not really wanting to talk to this guy. He was incredibly nice but I didn't know what to do with a nice Edd.

"Oh shit… he has a swim meet tomorrow… if you don't show…"

"I-I…" He stammered. "I'm not… the best swimmer…"

"Fuckin'... perfect…" I groaned. "He'll kill me…"

"It's not your fault…"

"I'm the one who made him go outside, it kinda is my fault." I rubbed my face again. "He's never missed a single meet…"

"I-I'm sorry…"

"You'll have to stay home sick tomorrow… it's the only way he'd get away with getting out of it…"

"You mean skip school?!" He was absolutely appalled! "I've never skipped school in my life!"

"Eddward does all the time, but missing a meet… the coach will assume he's sick…"

"H-he misses school… and he's prancing about my life?"

"Oh relax, Mr. Perfect… you won't be gone long."

"You said you took measurements on the storm right? Well maybe if Eddward sees them he could figure out how to use those to recreate it or something…"

"This isn't a science fiction movie, Kevin! This is a real life accident! My perfect attendance record…"

I couldn't help it, I started laughing. Maybe I was tired, maybe I was annoyed, I don't know what started it, but the moment he started whining I just laughed. Edd gave me this pouty look, it was actually rather adorable.

"Sorry… I'm sorry." I apologised, wiping my eyes. "You're just so different." I made an excuse for my laughter, but the more I thought about it, the more it seemed like that's what happened.

"It's fine…" He sighed. "Hey… is this Eddward violent?"

"When he's angry, yes."

"... then my Kevin may be in trouble…"

"Whoa, there's another me?"

"No." He said blankly, staring at me with this miffed expression. "I just happen to know your name and face because I'm magic."

"Okay sassy… no need to be rude." I rolled my eyes. "What's your Kevin like?"

"The opposite of you. He's nice and doesn't really swear… smart and unathletic whereas you seem to be built for sports."

"So now you're checking me out?" I grinned.

"H-hardly! I make mental notes." He muttered.

"Well I don't think this Kevin will have much of a problem with Eddward then, so long as he doesn't get in his way."

"That's the problem… Kevin tends to be slightly confrontational… especially to people who are rude to him…"

"He's going to get decked." Kevin shrugged. "No big deal."

"No! It is! With his… home issues…"

I paused. So this one had family problems too… As long as I can remember my mother had been rather violent. It was always something I could handle, but if this Kevin was as apparently fragile as Edd was… Eddward hitting him or saying something rude would be bad. I can handle my friend's rage pretty easily, but Edd's Kevin wouldn't know that they aren't the same person and could come across as annoying…

"He has to grow up some time, Edd. He's gonna get hurt in life. I can't change Eddward if I tried, he's too stubborn. If your Kevin gets hit, there's nothing we can do."

He didn't respond.

"I'm gonna head home. If you need me my house is right across the street and my phone is number three on his home phone's speed dial."

"Where am I supposed to stay? Here?"

"Well yeah… it's his house but what is he going to do? He's not here."

Edd just nodded and watched me leave. The sky was still cloudy overhead, but it was no longer raining. My walk home was one of brief contemplation. How long would he be here? What if the other Kevin got hurt? How would they even get him back? Hell I still didn't understand how exactly the lightning had caused all this… The moment I got back into my own house it smelled of alcohol and cigarettes. Dad was working late again, his car wasn't back, so that means mom was there. The door closed behind me and the clicking of the fastener was enough of a cue for her to start screaming.

"Where have you been?"

"What were you doing?"

"You're such a horrible son!"

"I bet you were out screwing around!"

"I'm too young to be a grandmother!"

"You're so ungrateful!"

"Selfish!"

I listen to her scream at me for a while, when I don't respond to any of it, she slaps me, her manicured nails scratching my cheek deep enough that I can feel little droplets of blood raise to the surface. Sure enough, touching the spot, I draw away and red is on my fingers in small amounts. I start walking up to my room and the screaming starts up again.

"Don't you walk away when I'm talking to you!"

"Your father will hear about this!"

"You're grounded!"

And so on and so on… I collapse on my bed, exhausted from the nights events and my mother's antics. Without getting changed or even climbing into the covers, I drift off on my bed in the cold darkness of my room.

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**PS: I literally just made up the name Appledale. In no way shape or form is it supposed to be an actual place.**

**Review please! It really does help me want to keep writing!**


	2. Eddward

When I finally woke up, I was on the porch in broad daylight. With a frown I got up, I could have sworn I'd made it out into the yard… Wait, did Kevin abandon ship? I looked around, no sign of that bumbling fool… He just left me there! I was so mad I could kill him. Something was odd though… I couldn't remember leaving my barometer outside… or any of this equipment. Which was extremely odd, as I take stock in everything with great detail. Did Kevin move this stuff here to mess with me? It's quite the elaborate prank… There were several things off about my home as well. Mostly that things were in different places… I stood, dusting myself off. I'd go to school if it meant beating the shit out of Kevin for daring me to do something stupid… never mind that I actually did it.

I had just walked into my home when there was a knock on the door and at first I suspected Kevin coming to finally see if I was still alive. Upon opening the door I was met with the strangest thing… it was peculiar, I never knew Kevin owned a sweater vest… or that he needed glasses. What's worse is this stupid little red bow around his neck. He looked like the 'dorks' he tended to tease.

"What on earth are you wearing?"

The quip seemed to catch him off guard and he frowned. "What's wrong with it? This is how I always dress…"

"No, I distinctly remember your wardrobe including less… tacky things." I'd been hanging around Jimmy too much. "I suppose it doesn't matter…" I sighed. "What do you want?"

"Are you okay, Double D?" I flinched at the old nickname. No one had called me that since the accident…

"Are you trying to upset me? Eddward. Not Double D."

"Ah… are you sick? Maybe you should stay home…" He frowned and reached for my forehead but I snagged his wrist and he winced.

"Do not touch me." I didn't understand what had happened. Kevin was acting so strange… When I let go of him, I must've been too rough because I knocked a textbook from his arms. I went and picked it up… the book had "Kev" written on it in cursive, something I knew Kevin didn't know how to do… what's worse is the book said 'Property of Appledale High Library'.

"What the hell is this?" Now I was just shocked. If I were stupid, I wouldn't have figured it out yet but at this point I knew I wasn't in my home, I wasn't in Peach Creek…

The storm…!

I dropped the book and ran in, not minding the door like I would have. It seems whoever was here before was recording it and if their data was any good… Looking over it, there were habits through the margins that I recognised from when I was younger. So that's what happened… The notes were pretty spot on, unusual pressure in the air… humidity higher than normal storms… other such things that didn't really make sense.

I had been correct, there was a parallel universe and somehow that storm put me right in it. Kev walked up behind me, looking at the notes.

"So you did go out here… I told you it was dangerous, no wonder you're so off… are you okay?"

"Kevin." I spoke up and instantly he corrected me.

"Kev."

"Whatever. Anyway, I'm going to need you to believe me because I may need your assistance."

"Uh… believe what exactly?"

"I'm not from here. I'm from this place called Peach Creek in what appears to be an alternate universe."

He was quiet for a moment. "Didn't realise you were the roleplaying type…"

I lifted him by his collar. "I'm fucking serious."

"O-okay I believe you!" He yelped, smoothing the vest out once I'd set him down. "Besides… Double D can't lift me that high… So how are we supposed to get you home?"

"I'll be working on that… I don't suppose you'd skip class for this, so I will see you after."

He puffed up, seeming to be pouting. "Don't tell me what I won't do… I'll stay and help!"

"Don't be stupid. You don't seem like the type to skip class."

"Th-then you really don't know me!" He grinned but it seemed awkward and unsure. I couldn't help but smirk.

"Oh? And why do you want to help so bad?"

That got him. "I… don't know…"

"I suggest you figure out why, people need a reason to try hard."

"Don't insult me! I will help!"

I shrugged. "Fine by me." I was looking through the notes this Double D had taken.

"So if you're here… does that mean Double D is where you are from?"

Not looking up from the notes I gave a sigh. "It's likely. Or he was completely fried in transmission…"

"If that's the case then couldn't you die too?!"

I just shrugged again. "I suppose, but what am I supposed to do? Live someone else's life while I'm missing in my own world? Besides I have a Kevin of my own to get home to, I'll kick his ass for this…"

"Is it his fault?"

"Do you ever stop talking? You ask so many questions…" I chewed my lip, looking through a few more pages. Recreating the circumstances would not be easy…

"Jeez you're rude…" He muttered. "So what first then?"

"Shut up."

He yelped and went quiet. It took me a few minutes to come up with something and I wrote quickly on an empty page. It was around then I noticed he was peeking over my shoulder and I whipped around, leaving a long black mark on his cheek with the marker.

"Respect my personal space, if it wouldn't trouble you to not stick to me like glue." He glared at my remark and sat on the couch.

I finished a small blueprint type thing and muttered: "But I'm not the best with wiring…" By 'not the best' I meant that I tended to mislabel a few or would make steps too quickly. Pardon my impatience… but wiring tended to make me jumpy. I knew how to do it, but I'd much rather be up fixing the rest of the device.

Kev perked up and grinned. "I'm good with wiring."

"Are you?"

"First place in the Robotics Expo my club went to!" He was swelling with pride and I had to admit it was kind of cute.

"Good, then I think I have a use for you Pumkin'." I enjoyed the tiny yelp he made. I seem to have a thing for power… I'd need to speak to my therapist about this once I returned.

He stood and moved to see what I'd done. We discussed parts and procedures like it was nothing, like two friends would talk about a movie. It was nice to have someone who knew about the other half of my personality. With Kevin, sure we had a lot in common and did stuff together including loathing each other until there was nothing left to hate… but Kevin couldn't talk science with me. I rather liked this one for that aspect. We made lists of stuff we'd need for this project and he didn't seem to care that we weren't going to be in school for a little while. Though my Kevin didn't mind that, we'd usually be just goofing off and no more. With this now I could do something with someone who shared other interests with me.

It was sundown before we stopped for anything. He seemed so happy, not at all concerned with what had happened. Then again, this one came across as sort of naive. We sat on the porch and ate leftovers from Double D's fridge.

"So what if your friend is gone?" I asked.

"I hadn't really thought of it… I don't think I'd like to… I mean he's my best friend, you know? I just can't imagine he is dead…" Kev responded.

"Best friend huh? I suppose that's sort of what Kevin and I are… it's more of an extreme love/hate relationship…"

"Why d'ya say that?"

"We're always competing, pushing each other to the limit and on and on. That's how I got here… he and I were joking around, daring back and forth, each one getting more and more extreme until he dared me to step out into the storm." I sighed. Kevin was an idiot.

"... Well then it's not his fault like you've said."

"Don't tell me I'm wrong. If I hadn't done it he'd have made fun of me… that would have led into a full scale fight and I do so detest violence…" I leaned forward on my hands. "What about you and the other me?"

"Well I've known him since he moved here… and he was friends with the other two Ed's for years, still is-" I stopped him.

"What do you mean he still is?" Did this mean this world hadn't had the accident…?

"Well they're still friends…" Kev looked confused but I waved, allowing him to continue. "Anyway, it was around middle school when we were placed in the same AP classes that we actually got close. He's one of my best friends now."

"So he still talks to Ed and Eddy…?"

Kev frowned. "Well yeah… why? Don't you?"

"It's not possible for me to anymore… I don't like talking about it, let's move on. What about home life? Does he see his parents often?"

"No… in fact I believe it's been two years since they visited."

"And does your mother hit you too?"

"H-huh?! Not… my mother…" He didn't seem to want to discuss it.

"So then this world is only similar… not incredibly parallel… interesting…" I laid back on the ground. "If you would like to stay here tonight, I'm sure your friend wouldn't mind." I yawned.

"Um… thanks…" He fidgeted. "Does… the other me get hit?"

"His mother is an abusive drunk and his father is too wishy washy to stop it, claiming he could never hurt his wife…" He sighed. I saw him open his mouth and anticipating his question I returned quickly with: "My parents come around more often than two years but every time they do they speak ill of me. My habits, my grades… which is funny because my grades are wonderful, even still they aren't impressed." I got up. "Find a place to sleep. I'm getting tired." I didn't want to discuss my family anymore than that. Life would go on whether or not my parents loved me, whether or not they spent my college funds on their extravagant vacations and didn't take me with… There is more but I did say I didn't want to discuss it. So I crawled up into the bed that looked and felt so much like mine, but even the simple knowledge that it wasn't kept me awake for a little ways longer. Every so often I could hear Kev shuffling downstairs.

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**I am not sure where this is going quite yet but I have a pretty good idea. The next chapter of The Caste should be up soon so please don't worry about it or send me messages asking where the chapter is, I'm getting through it slowly. Remember school life is still a thing.**

**Remember to review! It really does keep me going!**

**RAFFLE  
The winner gets to decide one major event that happens! To enter, answer the chapter questions as best you can. All entries that are at least a sentence per question will be entered. The events to choose from are the following:  
More death  
Love Triangle  
Fall Out  
(I'll elaborate on these TO THE WINNER so as not to create spoilers.)**

**Chapter Questions**

**1. Who do you think the antagonist will be?  
2. Which pairings do you think will come out of this?  
3. What do you like the most so far?  
4. What would you like to see?  
5. Do you think I'm messed up for needing to kill characters to write a good story?**

**Until next time my children~**


	3. Face

When I woke up, he was there. It was so strange, since even Eddward never really came into my home. To see this dorkier version of my friend inside my house sent me for a loop... and then I sat upright. That's funny... I wasn't wearing a blanket when I went to sleep... did he put that there? How long had he been sitting there? Reading a book by my bed, he noticed when I sat up and smiled.

"Sorry to intrude... but you said I had to stay home today... and I never saw you at the bus stop when I woke up early and looked out... So I assumed you were home. Your father let me in just as he left." He smiled, neatly tucking a makeshift bookmark in the book he was reading before setting it aside.

My dad had let me sleep in... usually he did that after one of mom's tantrums but yesterday was hardly a tantrum... perhaps it was the scratch on my face... I yawned, propping myself up on the bed.

"So did you have anything planned?" Double D asked. "I'm not sure how I can get home..."

I just shrugged. "Not the foggiest... this is something Eddward would be good at, not me."

"I'm sure you're smarter than you think you are." He smiled.

"Been hearing that for years... but even when I try my hardest, something goes wrong. Sports is the only thing I'm incredibly good at."

"That's still something." He pointed out. "You have to know what plays to use, what positions... remember where boundary lines are, what the penalties and rules are... it's a lot more memory than you even think about."

Now that he said it that way, he was right, I did have to use more of my brain power for sports than I thought I did. I gave a soft laugh and laid back on the pillows. It was interesting how emotional this one was compared to Eddward... it was nice, the things I didn't get from Eddward now showed through with this version. I wondered if maybe he was with the other me and if he felt the same way. Based off yesterday, I knew that Kev was supposed to be absolutely brilliant. When all Eddward has is me, I suppose he might miss talking intelligently with people.

"If everyone here is the opposite of home... I wonder what Eddy and Ed are like..." He had this sort of goofy grin on his face, but I swallowed.

"Pretty opposite... I can tell you."

"How would you know? I haven't told you about them yet..."

"Because yours are likely still around..."

That caught him off guard. Double D stared back with a confused yet scared look and I knew I'd have to explain before he asked.

"It was a few years back, ah... sixth grade I think... That dipshit Eddy thought it'd be a fantastic idea to teach everyone how to be extreme daredevils and of course a few people fell for it but... Eddward didn't finish the contraption and Eddy was impatient... He got into this thing it was like... a giant sling shot but it spun you around and launched you over this chasm they'd built onto a mattress they'd gotten from the junkyard... but like I said he didn't get a chance to finish it and it launched Eddy right into the pit and everything caved in on him..." Remembering for me wasn't nearly as bad as it was for Eddward. "I don't remember it as clearly as he does... he remembers so vividly he gets nightmares... anyway... Ed was the first one to get there, digging frantically while everyone stood in shock like it was something that couldn't actually be happening. Once it hit us that it did happen, we went in with Ed and started trying to dig him out... but..." I couldn't say it... as much grief as I gave the guy no one deserved to die... Double D appeared so sad.

"I didn't realise... What about Ed?"

"Ah... he moved away after that... it was so odd... having him gone. It was maybe a year later and his parents decided that he wasn't doing well here so they moved him and Sarah across the country. Edd gets letters or postcards sometimes but I don't think it makes him any happier."

"I can't imagine losing them... They've been my friends for ages s-so..."

"It's horrible really, after Ed left, Eddward sort of withdrawled and just stopped caring. He didn't come out for days and you could just see something in him snap and now he's... the way he is now."

"So what you're saying... is that these two worlds are almost identical? Because the way you talk about Ed and Eddy is the same as mine... which would mean that if something like that were to have happened I'd be the same as him?"

"Probably... For whatever reason your Kevin's dad abuses him and my mom abuses me... so I wonder if that'd have anything to do with the significant changes in how we are..."

"And you said you weren't smart."

I couldn't help but grin. It felt kinda nice to get praised for stuff like this. I'd never been good at school but even figuring something as small as this out is amazing to me. And I liked hearing it from him. Watching his grin grow as mine did, he seemed proud of me. Would it really be so bad if he stayed longer than this? Surely Eddward was enjoying himself... I couldn't wipe the grin from my face. I felt so stupid being so pleased by this small reasoning, but even then the grin stayed.

"We have to come up with a plan of some kind... I can't just stay here..."

"You said your notes were on the other side right? Well you can't really do anything without them unless you remember it all."

He paused. "I don't..." With a sigh he slumped in the seat he'd pulled up. He seemed lost, unable to do anything or help anyone. I sat up again and grabbed his hand. His head looked up so quickly I thought it might fall off.

"It'll be fine. We can just... hang out until Eddward figures your notes out."

He nodded, this look of awe still frozen on his face. I wouldn't call it awe though... it's just the only word I could fit into such a shocked expression, like he never once expected me to touch him. All I wanted in that moment was to kiss him. God knows why. We've only barely known each other for a day and a half. Even still it's all I wanted, he was everything Eddward wasn't.

And I loved it.


	4. We interrupt this program

The winner of the raffle is Colossal Titan's Hoe!

I was going to post a chapter but I have the worst writers block and decided that the raffle would decide the direction I take this in the next chapter.

It's likely I'll do another one in the future! Thank you for reading and reviewing. If you haven't left a review, please do. The best review I've ever gotten gave me a real reason why my writing was so amazing to that person. They said my characters were so dynamic and I just felt all warm and fuzzy inside. I'd really appreciate it if you'd leave one that tells me what you think I do well and what you think I don't do well.

Please be kind!

Love - The Goddess~


	5. Friendzone

**And so the raffle winner's prize is claimed! The winner chose a big fight! Luckily this helped me push toward the plot point I needed so it was perfect!**

**For the sake of the R!Universe, I did input Reverse!Jourdon. You guys never give me input on her but I've gotten some on Xavier and I know I'm going to get some for my new oc, especially with this story!**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

I was finishing this project up when Kevin came over with a couple friends. No one else was supposed to know but how was I supposed to stop him? It was hard to say no to him… Some red head in a ponytail was accompanied by another girl who's dyed hot pink hair had been cut short. The redhead looked like Jourdon from my home, but much more timid, the pink haired one I'd never met before.

"Eddward this is Jo and Ophilia…" Kevin smiled. "They wanted to help… they noticed something was off about you and I sort of told… I hope you aren't angry."

He looked so sorry… "I'm not, it's fine. I'm almost done though, we should test it soon."

It wasn't long before Ophelia took over the show, clinging to my arm and making it damn difficult to do anything. I shook her off, and the one Kevin called Jo, though shy and timid as she was, tried to pull her friend off.

"O-Ophilia I think we should leave him be…" Jo's voice was so soft I strained to hear the pleas I hoped would not fall on deaf ears.

But I was wrong. "Shut up, Jo, don't be such a killjoy." It became clear that Ophelia wasn't going to play nice when she shoved Jo off her and attempted to reattach to me. I once more shook her off like she didn't exist and it enraged her though I wouldn't know it until it was too late.

"Would it be possible for me to see your world? I'm curious." He shuffled.

I suppressed a grin. "That'd be acceptable. Let's give this thing a test run shall we?"

I flipped the switch and to my victory, it worked, though I knew it would, I don't build failures. Kevin grabbed the blueprints, he wanted there to be a working portal between these two dimensions, though I wasn't sure why, but regardless it made me happy, I didn't want to lose him just yet, he was interesting. He took a breath, this cute little habit to keep his excitement contained, and slowly, he stepped through. I held my breath, what if it didn't work? What if it killed him?!

As if to calm my worried, he poked back through with a grin.

"It worked."

He walked back again, as did I, following eagerly through. It was my house, the other end of the portal appeared a tear, like we'd ripped right through fabric. It was empty… which made me feel weird. Shouldn't the other Edd be here?

Answering my own question, I heard laughter from upstairs and followed the sound. My stomach hurt and my mouth go dry. Kevin and this… scrawnier version of myself were sitting on my bed rather close… So he'd date a pathetic, spineless version of myself but when I asked him I was turned down? It seems so hypocritical.

"Get out." I snapped, mostly not thinking. "We've fixed a way for this twerp to get home, so go on already."

I hadn't realised Kev was behind me until I felt a hand on my arm. "Eddward, calm down, what's wrong?" I don't normally react so much, even he knew it… I sighed. "Just go home, both of you…"

Kevin shrugged. "Alright, I'll just visit tomorrow." He hopped up, I watched at the smaller me did the same and tried to politely greet me. I wasn't having that.

"Just leave." I hissed, scaring him and sending him for his friend before they left for the portal.

"What the fuck, Edd?!" Kevin snapped. "What was that about?!"

"You know damn well what has me so upset you goddamn hypocrite."

"Is this about last summer?! Jeez dude, let it go! I'm not interested in you like that!"

"But you'll prey on one smaller than myself? We're the same person!"

"No you're not!" His quick retort followed by the look in his eye caused me to stop. "You're not even close. Eddward, you're my best friend and I'm here for you and all that fun shit, sure, but he's not cold like you are. You're too… hard to get closed to. I just… and with Double D… He's not always making fun of my intelligence. Hell he tells me I'm doing fine, that I'm not a miserable failure. Sure you're right and you're just painfully honest with me because I don't meet your standards but god… is it so much to want to feel secure around whoever I end up with?!"

"It's not my fault this happened! You think I want to push everyone away?!"

"Then why do you do it?!"

"Because I have no one else besides you!" I couldn't breathe…

"... I'm sorry, Edd, but my feelings stand… I don't love you. I'm sorry."

We were both not looking at each other, staring at the floor. He was more the kind of person to worry about his friends than I was, so perhaps he was thinking about how he might have hurt me, or how he could have handled it differently… I've known him long enough to get into his head. Yet still there was this unreadable quality to him that I couldn't place. Was he really sorry that he couldn't love me back or were the words just a formality?

"You should go home, Kevin…" I retained my usual demeanor. "Your _parents are waiting for you._" I didn't mean to spit out the last sentence like that, at a time like this I wish I had mine and it infuriated me that I didn't. He didn't seem upset at how I said it and patted my shoulder.

"I'll see you tomorrow, buddy." The endearing term hurt me more than he could have guessed.

'Buddy' he called me… while the friendzone isn't a real thing, I finally understood why the term was coined in the first place. The friendzone wasn't a place everyone was able to get to. It was something assholes and douchebags used to blame girls for their shortcomings. In reality, the friendzone was deeper than that. It wasn't that place that everyone used it for.

To me this place was my own, lonely hell situated at a pit in the bottom of empty space. It was devouring, acidic, and dark. Maybe I looked into this too much, but it honestly felt like I was sinking lower and lower into the depression threatening to overtake me only a few years ago. I watched Kevin's form disappear and I heard the door close softly behind him as he left the house.

I hadn't cried since the accident and I didn't plan to now… but my brain had other ideas on that aspect.

I don't sob, I merely let the liquid fall. Was it really so hard to obtain someone who loves you? Kev maybe… but I don't think that this would end any differently. The other one would reject me too and then where would I be? Locked in misery waiting for it to evaporate and burn me.

It was then I realised I forgot something and went down to the tear in space to go over to the other world.

"Eddward?" Kevin spoke quickly, had he been waiting? No… no he was standing there with that twerp…

"I seem to have left my hat behind in the excitement. Have you seen it?" I asked.

"Um… maybe you left it up in Double D's room?" He replied, standing with said boy. "We can go look there, you can check the kitchen or living room."

I nodded and watched them leave.

I heard footsteps all around me, above my head, through the halls, listening to those two running about. About half an hour passed after the noises stopped that I went looking for them. I found Double D, but not Kev.

"Where is he?" I asked vaguely.  
"He thought you left already and went to return your hat. We found it just a few moments ag-"

There was a huge crash and both of us went running. The machine we'd built had toppled over and crashed into pieces. Nearby stood Ophelia, a sort of satisfied look on her face that she quickly replaced with shock once she noticed us there.

"What happened?" Double D asked.

"I-I just… I tripped and pushed it and… I was just trying to follow after Kevin…" She didn't seem sincere enough to me.

"Why did you need to go after him?"

"I needed to tell him something… it's sort of private…"

"How private could it be?" I asked, I suspected lying but even what she said next would make me question if she was being honest or not.

"I-I needed to let him know…" She seemed embarrassed.

"What?"

"He got me pregnant."


End file.
